Done right insulation can keep a vehicle and the people inside warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. But, insulation has many pros and cons. And, buying the wrong product can defeat the purpose to insulate a van.
I researched the different ways heat travels through different parts of a van, but ultimately used the same insulation for the entire vehicle. Insulating a van was the first part of an complete van build my partner and I did to our Ford Econovan, 1999. This was done in Australia, but this information can be used for any van build around the world.
I started my research for insulating my van and found a ton of great blogs from North America. Many directed me this tinfoil-like bubble wrap called Reflectix, among other great products. This product is thin, light-weight and just needs some space for a decent R-value. R-value is the thermal resistance rating of a product, meaning it determines it’s ability to transfer heat.
That is, until I did research to find this product doesn’t exist to the same capacity in Australia.
There is Kingspan AIR-CELL in Australia, but it can only be purchased for large quantities—the amount for a house. Or, at least way too much for a van.
Another differentiating factor to insulate a van in Australia, is that the country’s weather can vary so much. Especially for people travelling all over the country. From deserts with over 40 degrees, to high-altitude rainforests where it snows. Travelling Australia can lead to many unique weather conditions.
Get a look at everything done on my complete van build, and check out how my cost breakdown for how I did the van build under $400.
Glass wool is known for being irritating to skin, but for its price, R-value, installation and availability, I ended up choosing it. I went with this eco-friendly option Earthwool Space Blanket from Bunnings. Though it has a small R-value, it’s great for a climate in Australia with drastically different temperatures and weather conditions.
The products is also relatively thin and comes with a reflective coating to manage moisture and temperatures, among other things. We just had to accommodate for a small loss of space where the insulation was put in. This is a guide to insulating a van in Australia on a budget.
For affordable and quality van build equipment, check ebay for deals on tools and building material!
How to Insulate a Van in Australia
Materials
- Glass wool or other insulation
- Knife or large durable scissors
- Measuring tape
- Plywood plank – length of insulation’s width (optional)
- Long rubber gloves
- PPEs (safety glasses, dust mask) (optional)
- Wall/ceiling/floor covering material (such as plywood)
- 100 – 2.5mm metal screws (or best size for vehicle)
- Battery Drill
Method
- Prepare the area for insulation
Either clean the area before installing any insulation. Also tuck away any wires for the vehicle’s electronics so they aren’t sticking out, but also leave them available to re-installation afterwards (if necessary).
- Measure and cut insulation
Measure out insulation for each space (ceiling, walls, floor, and doors) and cut with the scissors or knife. To keep a straight line while cutting use a plywood plank as a guide, or the measuring tape. For our van build we used three sections for the ceiling, and floor each then the walls was odd pieces.
- Prepare insulation coverings
Have plywood or whichever material is being used to cover the insulation ready. The insulation can’t be glued or taped down, so a material to cover it will have to be installed to hold it in place. The ceiling is the most awkward to install the insulation, here we used extra wood to hold it up, before installing the plywood covering.
- Install insulation
With gloves and other PPEs, it’s time to install the insulation. We did the reflective material facing inside in our van so the fibres weren’t coming out. The reflective material acts as a moisture barrier. It’s recommended to face it outwards in very tropical climates and inwards for other climates. The next steps will be for each different side of the vehicle where insulation can be installed.
- Insulating the ceiling
Once all the pieces were measured out we removed the metal beams, or stabilizers. These originally held up the vehicle’s cardboard-like ceiling. They’re now used to hold up the insulation, and act as a spot to drill our ceiling plywood boards into.
- Insulating the walls
We put the odd pieces of insulation into the walls, which were previously covered with panels. Because the walls have a curve, we drilled in some odd wood planks to keep the plywood walls flat. The same wall as our sliding door is even more curvy and has an indent. The plywood covering held all of the insulation in place with the help of these wood planks.
- Insulating the floors
We used wooden beams to hold the floor up rather than squish the insulation down. This also acted to stabilize and keep the insulation functional. This left the floor protruded about 3cm above the original floor. To make it look flawless we added more wooden beams and trimmed them near the back and side door so the insulation wouldn’t stick out, and painted it all the same colour. Check out photos for this on my floors post.
- Insulating the doors
This insulating job looks the least professional, we used the leftover pieces and mainly just stuck it in to cover the area. We didn’t add any to the front doors as it could prevent the window from going up and down smoothly.
- Tuck in insulation
Before drilling in the covering plywood or other materials on top of the insulation tuck in all the insulation. Doing this after drilling in the covering material may not look as nice.
- Install covering material
Screw the covering material into the van in a backed-up area or, somewhere a screw won’t go through the vehicle. When we had trouble with drilling the screws directly, we used pre-drilled a hole with a metal drill bit.
After the insulation is ready, move onto installing a plywood ceiling and walls.
